London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam are to send their eldest son to the sought-after Catholic school where Tony Blair’s boys were pupils.

The couple’s decision to send Antonio, 11, to the London Oratory in Fulham is likely to spark controversy as there are several other state schools closer to their south-west London home.

The Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister has also described himself as not an “active believer” in God, although he has said he is committed to bringing up his children in the Catholic faith. His wife is a Catholic.

There had been speculation that the couple could choose an independent school after Mr Clegg kept open that option for Antonio and his other two children Alberto, eight and Miguel, four.

“If it works out to send them to a good state [secondary] we will do so but, like all parents sending their children to secondary school in London, as you know there is huge competition for places,” he recently told LBC radio.

Today, Mr Clegg’s spokesman said: “In response to media enquiries, Nick and Miriam can confirm that they have decided to send their eldest son, Antonio, from September onwards to the London Oratory School, a state Catholic secondary school.

“He is currently a pupil at a state Catholic primary school, Our Lady of Victories in Putney, where he has been going for the last six years. Now that their decision has been made public, they hope that the privacy of their son will be respected.”

Mr Clegg, who was privately educated at Westminster School, was asked six years ago in a radio interview if he believed in God, to which he replied: “No”. He later added: “I am not myself an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind.”

The headmaster of the London Oratory, David McFadden, said his school would be a “natural choice” for the Cleggs, who live in Putney.

Thousands of children in London found out on Friday which state school they had been allocated.

Mark Phillips, the principal of Ark Putney academy, has said he did not believe that the Cleggs had visited his school to see whether it would be suitable for their sons.